Hello my dear blog subscribers! It’s been since midsummer, please excuse my absence. Against the advice of my spectacular business coach, I haven’t blogged in a while. Here I am now though, blogging my little heart out. I am going to re-introduce my blog with the season in mind. An ode to my favorite time of year….
This time of year, in Chinese Medicine, marks the late summer. This is a time of transitioning from summer into fall and fall into winter (for you TCM junkies, it is the yin coming into yang). It is described as a time for harmony, centeredness, and for preparing the body. It can be a useful time for a short, gentle fast and for eating foods that are golden or yellowish in color, slightly sweet, and foods that are round. This time of year and these types of food are represented by the Earth Element in Chinese Medicine. We are at a very unique time for optimizing our digestion (governed by the Earth Element) because “the Earth Element heavily influences the 7 ½ days before and the 7 ½ days after each of the two equinoxes (and solstices).” (Healing With Whole Foods, Pitchford, 340) The Autumn Equinox was on September 23, making this prime time for your digestion, we should be preparing for winter, just like all of nature.
This time of year can also bring up physical and emotional shifts within your body. We left a time of activity, joy and happiness (summer, the fire element), we are currently in a time of centeredness and transition (late summer, the earth element), moving into a time of gathering, preparing, and grief (autumn, the metal element). This is not to be thought of negatively, but rather, just a natural cycle. You see, we are not designed to go 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, maybe that’s why this time of year is marked by anxiety and depression, people are fighting this natural shift instead of embracing it. 
Embrace it, friends! Nurture your body and support its natural cycles; it’s not too late to start enjoying the season!
A couple more days remain in the optimal time, but you have plenty of time to still reap the benefits of this time of preparation. Foods that are beneficial this time of year are: “millet, corn, carrots, cabbage, garbanzo beans, soybeans, squash, potatoes, sweet rice, rice, amaranth, peas, chestnuts, filberts, apricots, and cantaloupe.” (Healing With Whole Foods, Pitchford, 340) *Please do not indulge in foods to which you have allergies.*
Live well and prosper!
